The cast glass process

The cast glass process

The cast glass process I use for making these works, which also involves the lost wax process, is explained in the gallery below.

Wax poured

Wax is poured into the mould and left to set for several hours.

Demoulded waxes

The 'Man looking' series the heads are moulded separately so the heads can be placed at different angles.

Finished waxes

The waxes are assembled any imperfections corrected (better in the wax than the glass) then cleaned.

First coat

First coat of refractory mould material applied.

Second coat

Second coat of refractory mould material applied, with grit added.

Third coat

Third coat applied. A sheet of glass is placed on top of the wet mixture and leveled.

Forth coat

The mould is turned over and the forth coat applied to give added stability to the base.

Wax steamed out

The mould is then placed onto a steamer where the wax is melted out

Flushing

The mould then is flushed out with cold then hot water alternately to dislodge the last of the wax.

Into the kiln

The quantity of glass is measured out, wshed then placed in flower pots and placed on the hollow moulds. They are then placed in the kiln for the firing.

Firing finished

Six days later (in the case of 'Man looking') the firing is complete and the moulds are cool enough to remove from the kiln.

Breaking out

The refractory mould is now carefully broken away to reveal the reformed glass.

Still breaking out

When the mould is broken away it comes away in the layers it has been applied. The reason for so may layers is in case there is a weak point in the previous layer, therefore containing the molten glass.

Ready for the final stages

The piece is now sanded with diamond pads and strips along with some dremel work. Then I sandblast each and then they are acid etched.